Batgirl, Vol 1: Silent Running [Paperback]

Kelley Puckett (Author), Scott Peterson (Author), Damion Scott (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2001

Exploding out from no man's land -- the all-new batgirl! In the midst of No Man's Land, Batman gave a nameless girl with a violent past the costume and title of Batgirl. Exceeding his expectations, the new, silent Batgirl quickly made the role her own, earning the trust of the Dark Knight's allies, including the first Batgirl, Oracle. Now, in post-No Man's Land Gotham, Batgirl struggles to learn the lessons of how to live a normal life, lessons she never learned from her mentor, the deadly assassin known as Cain. And when a mercenary from her past resurfaces, bent on revenge, can Batgirl bury her own violent tendencies and break the cycle of death and destruction that has dogged her since childhood?

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kelly Puckett has written for numerous titles, including Legends of the DC Universe and Batman/Batgirl, while former Batman editor Scott Peterson has previously provided scripts for Batman: Gotham Adventures. Damion Scott was one of the regular artists on the Batman: No Man's Land epic. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics; Graphic No edition (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563897059
• ISBN-13: 978-1563897054
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #475,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the most interesting characters in many years., March 14, 2001

By 

Craig Lawrence "hilandercs" (Gaithersburg, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batgirl, Vol 1: Silent Running (Paperback)

The New Batgirl burst onto the scene in Batman: No Man's Land, Volume 3. From the start, she made a huge impact on the flow of the storyline. From her new take on the Batgirl mythos, to her unusual personal situations, every moment of this book is exciting and interesting. I read this book 2 times in a row, right off the bat (no pun intended). Batgirl is a 17 year old girl with no speech development in her brain, all her life, she's been deprived of speech, and taught to fight instead. Her brain workes off of body language and movement instead of words and meanings. Her struggle to make a place for herself in light of this situation is very well written, truely a heartfelt and moving adventure. Her relationship with Oracle (the former Batgirl) and Batman is a completely unique take on the Mentor-student role. On another note, the artwork, while not 100% realistic, is very nicely rendered. The only thing keeping this book from a 5 star rating is the fact that because Batgirl is, for the most part, mute, the story contains several pages and many many pannels of total action. Personally I wish this would happen more often to comic books in general, however, it's a bit much all at once like this.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars some hate it, i loveit..., July 15, 2004

By 

Mike Smith (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batgirl, Vol 1: Silent Running (Paperback)

personally damion scotts art made me pick this book up in the first place, his art is incredible you are sucked into the story seemlessly, and even though his dynamic angles and great action sequences are refered to as ameri-manga they still give the story(which is somewhat lacking in my veiw, though has some powerful and very dark scenes) a great feel and style thats all new and very fresh.

So if you love art more than [comic]stories pick this up just for the shear delight that Scott can give, if you're a fan of humberto ramos(out there, impulse, spectacular spider-man), fransico herrera(venom, kmkz) or even the really fresh artists like skottie young(human torch, venom)then this book is for you, give it a go you'll be impressed.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Character in Search of a Story..., April 17, 2001

By 

Joel R. Bryan (Athens, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batgirl, Vol 1: Silent Running (Paperback)

Meet the new Batgirl: she's silent, she's running, she's oh-so-cute and oh-so-deadly.

She's Cassandra Cain, raised from early childhood to be the perfect assassin, an unstoppable killing machine. Haunted by guilt, she fled, did who knows what, then turned up in Gotham City. Now 17 and under the tutelage of Batman and the original Batgirl, Barbara Gordon (now confined to a wheelchair but as fiesty as ever), Cassandra fights for justice, fights to ease her conscience, fights to understand a world of language and emotions she can barely understand. That's a lot for a teen to handle, even one without such a screwed-up childhood.

An impressive concept, and a fresh take on Batman's little corner of the DC universe, and it may work better at a monthly's pace. Collected in a single volume, these first 6 issues in Batgirl's ongoing series move way too fast and tend to gloss over all the things that make her unique. It's like trying to read the label on a spinning cd to see what song's playing.

Beyond Batgirl herself, the best element here is the unusual yet compelling art by Damion Scott and Robert Campanella. Scott and Campanella work in a very animated style, influence by manga, anime and "Batman: The Animated Series." The characters are cartoony, yet vivid and expressive, and at times, move with fluid grace, which is saying a lot for static images on paper. The adventures play out on detailed sets, with much attention to background and foreground elements.

Sometimes, the panel-to-panel flow doesn't quite work (as in one early scene where it's tough to judge the sequence of word balloons), but what they do best is give Batgirl comical facial expressions, even when she's in her faceless mask. The supporting characters, even Batman and Barbara, get the same treatment. While not as "realistic" as a lot of artwork out there, it seems more "real" at times. Kind of funky and fun.

While the artists handle some of the characterization chores (as they should), everything else seems rushed. As soon as silent Batgirl piques our interest, a psychic's rearranged her mind so she can understand language. This affects her fighting skills, but that's tossed aside in favor of Batman's getting angry at her for stopping someone's heart. Evidently, she has little problem adjusting. Then why even mention it? How does it further the story, and, more importantly, how does it make us care about Batgirl?

Look at it this way: she had her childhood stolen, she killed a man at the age of 7 and it horrified her, she wears a costume and jumps off rooftops. Barbara Gordon constantly psychoanalyzes her and Batman tries to mold her into a version of himself. Which one is right, and what's best for Cassandra? Why not use this rich material?

We, as readers, are not allowed to dwell on anything for more than a panel or two; therefore, the stories seem slight and hurried, and without real consequences or mood. Chances for real emotion and poignancy (Batgirl impulsively kisses someone she's saved) pass by almost unnoticed and overwhelmed by endless action sequences. A kid wired on Super Sugar Crisp comes to mind.

This wild, untamed Batgirl is quite a character, but at this pace, she's going to be just another black-suited Bat-ninja, no different from any other comic book character. And that's a real shame. She could be a contender, if only she had a chance. That said, by all means check it out and groove on the new Batgirl while you can.